The Avengers: Arthurian Style
by twilightHDfan
Summary: After Lieutenant Merlin Emrys has to use his magic to save his squadron, he's approached by an Agent Gwen Coulson of S.H.I.E.L.D to join a team called the Avengers. An Avengers Fusion.


**A/N** - Written for a prompt over on kink me merlin. Hope you enjoy :)

AMAM

**Chapter 1**

The One Where Merlin and Magic Joins the Team

AMAM

Merlin sits in the tent, staring down at his hands. His whole life, his whole life he's been so careful, making sure never to use his magic where others would see it. But he couldn't just let his squad go down like that, under a hail of gunfire and magic. Not when he could save them.

His magic had just leapt from him, rising up to form a shield, allowing the team enough time to move to cover and the birds to come in and clear the way for them. And now his team will barely look at him, men that he'd saved grateful to him but scared at the same time.

This is why he always hid his magic, because people would always fear what they didn't understand.

"Lieutenant Emrys?"

The woman's voice is quiet but strong, and Merlin feels himself react, standing to attention as he takes her in. She's wearing a grey pants suit with a blue shirt, her curly dark hair up in a bun, warm smile on her face as she stands in front of him, brown eyes meeting his. She's not afraid, not even slightly, he can tell from her eyes that if anything he interests her, but doesn't scare her.

"Ma'am," he replies, giving a small nod.

"You can stand down, solider," she answers, indicating with one hand for him to sit on his bed, taking a seat on the bed across from him.

"Are you here to discharge me, ma'am?" he asks, swallowing hard. He's been a solder since he left school, since he lost his mother. It's all he knows, and now because of who he is, what he is, he's going to lose it all.

"It's Agent Gwen Coulson, Lieutenant," she answers. "And I'm here to debrief you."

He hadn't expected this. Hadn't expected the Army to still want him after what had happened. It wasn't that they would get rid of him, but most magic users went to the Squad, doing things in the dark and secret.

"Debrief me?" Merlin replies, frowning a little in confusion.

"At 1430 today, you used a magical shield to protect yourself and eight other soldiers," Agent Coulson says, small smile still on her face, Merlin wondering if it's a mask she wears. A very pretty mask. "A shield that held up against every weapon the enemy had, including the blasts from the birds that were incoming. We haven't seen that kind of strength in a long time, Lieutenant Emrys."

"O-okay?" Merlin replies, not quite sure what was going on. Maybe this woman was part of the Squad, maybe that's why she was really here to 'debrief' him before he was forced to join the magical force. Although she didn't look like she was.

"Lieutenant I have a ... unique opportunity to offer you," Agent Coulson answers.

"Opportunity?" Merlin asks.

"How would you like to save the world?" she answers, standing up and holding a file, which she pulled from who knew where, out to him. "Everything you need to know is in this file. We have a plane leaving in half an hour. I hope to see you on it."

With that, she turns and walks out of the tent, not once glancing back at him. Merlin watches her go feeling like he's just been in a hurricane, completely blown off course. He stares down at the file for a few moments, swallowing hard as he runs a hand over the cover.

He can't help but think of his mother, wondering what she would say if she was beside him. Hunith had always told him he was meant for great things, that his magic was meant for great things. What would happen if he refused to open the file, if he just ignored it and stayed where he was. Would the Army discharge him, would he go to the Squad? He knew that they wouldn't keep him here. His team were grateful, but they'd hunted and fought magic users, and would most likely be paranoid because of it.

He didn't blame them. He would probably be the same if he wasn't magic himself. He was yet to meet someone like him who didn't try and kill his squad.

Tapping his fingers on the file, he snorted. There wasn't really any question, what solider would say no to saving the world? They were fighting for the protection of their country, who wouldn't fight for the protection of their world? Especially if the other option was going home and trying to figure out what to do from there, or joining the Squad.

Opening the file, his eyes were drawn to the photo of the glowing cube. Tesseract, the title said. His eyes ran over the information, mind whirling the implications of what the small glowing cube could mean. Self-sustaining energy. He'd heard of some crazy billionaire playboy creating something similar called an arc reactor, one of the cleanest energy sources Merlin had ever heard of. But this tesseract would put that reactor out of business, and the implications for the world were stupendous.

Unfortunately, the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division, or S.H.I.E.L.D, had managed to lose the cube to some guy called Mordred. Mordred, who came through a worm hole and stole the cube from S.H.I.E.L.D headquarters, walking away with one of its best agents and scientists.

He freezes when he sees the name of the scientist.

_Gaius._

His old mentor. Who had been teaching him magic and physics before his mother had passed away. Before he went and joined the Armed Forces.

Standing up, he closes the file. He'll read the rest on the plane. He's already gotten the gist of what's going on, and he can figure the rest out on the plane. The one thing he can't help but wonder about is why S.H.I.E.L.D would want him. Of all the people in the world with magic, why is S.H.I.E.L.D interested in him.

It's the first thing he asks when he's on the jet, sitting across from Agent Coulson.

"You have no idea how powerful you are, do you, Lieutenant?" she answers. Before he can respond the feeling of being watched passes over Merlin, his skin erupting in goose bumps, magic wrapping around him like a shield.

It's then that Merlin notices the other brunette on the plane. Her blue eyes are glued on Merlin, watching him with a focus that makes Merlin shift a little uncomfortably. With her dark hair, pale skin and blue eyes, the woman is nothing short of exquisite … except for the scary intensity the woman's eyes have. The eyes telling you that while she hasn't squashed you yet, she could. She's wearing a dark jumpsuit with boots, and Merlin can't help but think that it's an outfit an assassin would wear.

"This is one of my colleagues," Agent Coulson says, noticing where his eyes are. "And one of yours if you join the team. Her name is Morgana Pendragon, she's one of S.H.I.E.L.D's best agents."

Merlin files that information away, deciding that his initial assessment of her being an assassin probably isn't too far off the mark.

"Team?" he asks, focusing on the important parts of what Coulson was telling him.

"You didn't finish the briefing?" Coulson asks, eyes flicking to the file and then back to Merlin's.

"I read what seemed pertinent at the time," Merlin answers, feeling a little defensive. The agent seems to realise this, as she raises her hands.

"I wasn't accusing you of anything, Lieutenant," she replies, leaning forward. "What did you glean from the packet?"

"You … S.H.I.E.L.D, were in possession of a cube that could harness energy, enough to sustain the world, if you wanted to," he answers, leaning back in his chair, eyes flicking to Agent Pendragon every now and then, feeling a little uneasy under her gaze. "Enough to form an Einstein Rosen Bridge. Which it did."

He can see Coulson and Pendragon don't quite get what he's talking about, and feels himself relax a little. These people don't know everything then.

"A worm hole," he continues, "which this, guy, Mordred, used to come through onto your base and steal the cube. The worm hole it created was unstable though and caused your entire base to be destroyed. And with that kind of power, he could destroy the Earth."

"He got the basics then," Morgana says, looking at him with curiosity now.

"And I'm assuming that's why you're creating this team?" Merlin asks, looking between the two of them.

"That's correct," Coulson answers. "It was something we were going to create a few years ago, but it didn't come to fruition. Mordred has forced our hand and now we're creating a team of … extraordinary individuals to protect the world. The boss is calling the team the Avengers."

"Avengers?" Merlin asks. "Are we protecting the world or avenging it?"

"Both," Morgana answers, giving him a quick grin, before turning and looking out the window.

"Perhaps you should read the rest of the file, Lieutenant," Coulson continues, two of her fingers tapping on the file. Merlin stares at her a moment longer, wondering what he's gotten himself into, before pulling the file towards himself.

Reading through the papers in the file, he learns who the rest of the team will be. He can't help but feel a little thrill when he reads the name Lancelot Du Lac, Captain America, the living legend himself, feels a rush go through him that the man might be one of his team mates. A super solider that saved the world by sacrificing himself and then surviving being frozen seventy years.

Then there's Doctor Percival Grant. A brilliant man who's experiment should've killed him, but instead allowed him to turn into a huge, hulking man that could withstand all kinds of weaponry. Powerful in body and mind.

Morgana Pendragon, Black Widow, who he's already met, and was scared of before he read what she is capable of. Another agent Leon Varne, a brilliant archer who never misses.

Lastly there's Arthur Pendragon, or Iron Man, as he's better known as. The genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist who's so arrogant that he thinks he can take on the world and win. He briefly wonders if Arthur and Morgana are related, noting their surnames, and how many Pendragon's can there be, before he's distracted by the feeling of the plane descending.

It doesn't take too long before they're landing, Coulson and Morgana unbuckling and making their way out of the jet once the jet's stopped moving. Merlin follows at a slower pace, wondering if he's doing the right thing, before he remembers Gaius.

Taking a deep breath he steps off the plane and can't help but stare at the carrier around him. He'd been expecting an office or large non-descript building. A carrier almost feels like home turf for him and he can't help but relax a little as he follows the two women across the ship.

"Lieutenant Merlin Emrys, this is Doctor Percival Grant," Coulson introduces when they meet an awkward looking man standing near the door to the deck of the ship. Percival is huge, tall and bulky, even though he seems to be small at first glance, hiding it by slouching and ducking his head. Merlin can't begin to imagine what the Hulk must look like if this is what the 'ordinary' man looks like.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Merlin says, holding his hand out. Percival stares at him for a moment, before reaching out shaking his hand. Merlin's hand is dwarfed by the Doctor's, and Merlin wonders how the man can seem so small when he's clearly not.

"Nice to meet you too, Lieutenant," Percival replies, small smile on his face. "Please call me Percy."

"Merlin," Merlin answers. "So they convinced you to join the team too?"

"No," Percy says, ducking his head and running a hand through his hair. "I'm just here to locate the tesseract. Bad things happen when I … suit up so to speak."

Coulson ushers them inside after that and to the main deck. Merlin watches through the windows as the carrier becomes air born, his stomach dropping a little at the sensation, before righting itself, as the ship disappears into the air.

He's not sure what he's gotten himself into.

AMAM

**A/N** - Let me know what you thought :)


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